TRO-assisted disabled students achieve academic success

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 00:01 GMT]
Eyesight-impaired students from Iniya Valvu Illam have shown themselves to be competitive with other students in their schools in the last GCE (OL) exam for which results were released recently. One such student, Mr. Alagu Chandrakumar, received the best results in Vallipunam Junior High School, receiving 3 As, 2 Bs and 4 Cs. Two other students from Iniya Valvu Illam received 1 A, 2 Bs, 5 Cs and 1 S; and 1A, 1 B, 5 Cs and 1 S respectively.
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Pre-school Committees to be elected in the North-East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 23:15 GMT]
Elections of 13-member executive committees of the Pre-school Education Development Centre (PSEDC) are being held throughout North-East, and Committee members will be elected from General Councils comprising parents, administrators, teachers and government officers from Education and Health Departments, Pradeshiya Sabahs (regional councils) and Non-Governmental Organisations, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) said in a statement Thursday.
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Voters in LTTE-held Vanni arrive in Puliyankulam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 17:33 GMT]
Twenty thousand voters in remote areas in the Mullaithivu district have been brought to the Liberation Tigers’ checkpoint in Puliyankulam until Thursday evening for voting in the general elections on Friday at the clustered polling stations in Omanthai, about 10 k.m. south of Puliyankulam, said Mr. S. Elilan, the political head of the LTTE in Vavuniya.
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NPC condemns election violence and expulsion of people in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 15:03 GMT]
In a press release Thursday, the National Peace Council has condemned the election-related violence, intimidations and assassinations in the North-East, and the “effort to expel people of Jaffna-origin living in Batticaloa,” saying that “factional rivalries should not be solved at the expense of the people.”
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UN agencies condemn forced displacement of Jaffna Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 12:55 GMT]
The Resident Representatives of UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP in Sri Lanka Thursday “expressed their joint concern over recent reports of the displacement of northern Tamils from Batticaloa District, either as a result of fear of persecution, or as a result of threats”. In a statement issued Thursday they strongly condemned the forced displacement and the violation of the basic rights of northern Tamils in Batticaloa. The UN agencies urged the authorities to ensure protection and to maintain law and order.
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Batticaloa doctors protest against Karuna Group

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 12:21 GMT]
Doctors at the Batticaloa teaching hospital protested Thursday against the Karuna Group for forcing Jaffna Tamils to leave the troubled eastern district. Eleven doctors from Jaffna, including six consultants who were working in the Batticaloa teaching hospital, left the district in the early hours of Thursday with Police escort. Hundreds of Jaffna Tamils fled the eastern town after armed cadres of the Karuna Group threatened and ordered them to leave Batticaloa on Tuesday night.


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CMEV sends all Sinhala monitors to Jaffna district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 00:35 GMT]
A thirteen member-team of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to monitor the April 2nd general election in the Jaffna electoral district. All monitors are from the major community and would be staying in Jaffna until the election is concluded, civil society sources said.


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LTTE requests Jaffna Tamils not to leave Batticaloa, Amparai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 16:29 GMT]
The political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday issued a statement appealing to the people who have been living in the districts of Batticaloa and Amparai for generations not to leave their habitats succumbing to the threats and the pressure directly issued by the Karuna group or in the name of any other organizations.
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Businesses close as Jaffna Tamils leave Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 11:01 GMT]
Businesses belonging to Tamils from Jaffna remain closed in Batticaloa, Chenkalady, Kaluwanchikudi, Pandiriuppu and Kalmunai areas as the owners left the area on the orders of renegade commander Karuna said sources in Batticaloa.
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"Thanthai” Chelva remembered on 106th birthday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 04:15 GMT]
The 106th birthday of the late Tamil leader and the founder of the Federal Party (Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi -ITAK), Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, falls on Wednesday. Tamils in the country, who still fondly remember Mr. Chelvanayakam as “Thanthai (father) Chelva,” will celebrate the late leader's birthday Wednesday at a time when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is contesting the forthcoming general elections on the ITAK ticket, with its HOUSE symbol revived after 37 years, political sources said.
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Karuna Group orders Jaffna Tamils to leave Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 17:23 GMT]
Tension and fear gripped Batticaloa town Tuesday evening as Karuna Group cadres ordered thousands of civilians and businessmen of Jaffna who are resident in Batticaloa to leave the eastern district immediately.
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“Depriving franchise would pose serious problems”- Cushnahan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 15:10 GMT]
“The Elections Commissioner has agreed that voters in LTTE held areas in the northeast would be given an opportunity to exercise their franchise. However, preventing them from voting on the polling day would pose serious problems,” said the European Union Election Observation Commission (EU EOM) Chief Observer, Mr.John Cushnahan, addressing a press briefing in the Batticaloa district secretariat Tuesday.
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Batticaloa district security strengthened

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 14:53 GMT]
The security of the Batticaloa district, which has witnessed four political murders since the filing of nominations for the forthcoming general election, has been strengthened following the killings of two persons including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidate Mr.Rajan Sathyamoorthy Tuesday.
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EU Chief Observer visits Batticaloa scene of killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 11:48 GMT]
European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer Mr.John Cushnahan accompanied by European Union (EU) Sri Lankan delegation head Mr.Wouter Wilton arrived in Batticaloa Tuesday morning and visited the house where the Tamil National Alliance candidate Mr.Rajan Sathyamoorthy and his relative Mr.Kanthan Kanagasabai were killed. They also visited the hospital and inquired from the Police regarding the incident, sources said.


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Tigers condemn TNA candidate’s killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 07:27 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Tuesday said they strongly condemn the killing of Mr. Rajan Sathiyamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance candidate for Batticaloa. “The people of Batticaloa should not to be perturbed by such incidents of violence in the district that create fear. We call on them to vote for the TNA and show the world the national strength of the Tamil people”, the LTTE said in statement issued in Tamil from their political headquarters in Kilinochchi Tuesday. Mr. Sathiyamoorthy was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his residence Tuesday morning.


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Thennamaravadi residents to vote after 17 years

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 03:10 GMT]
Nearly six hundred displaced voters of Thennamaravadi, a traditional Tamil village on the northern border of the Trincomalee district located about 73 km from the east port town wiil be voting for the first time after they fled from the village in 1987 due to military operation by the Sri Lanka Army, civil sources said.


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Pro-Karuna TNA candidate shot

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 02:40 GMT]
Batticaloa Tamil National Alliance candidate, Mr. Rajan Sathiyamoorthy, a close confidante of renegade LTTE commander Mr. V. Muraleetharan, was shot by unidentified gunmen at his residence in the eastern town Tuesday morning. The injured candidate was rushed to Batticaloa hospital, Police said. The Hospital director said that Mr.Sathiyamoorthy succumbed to his wounds after he was admitted to the hospital.
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Jaffna University confers degrees on Tamil artistes

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 00:46 GMT]
The Jaffna University created history last weekend by conferring Honorary Doctorates of Philosophy posthumously on two world-renowned artistes, Nathaswaram Vidwan Mr. N.K.Pathmanathan of Alaveddy and Dramatist Nadikamani V. V.Vairamuthu of Kankesanthurai. The Chancellor Professor M.Sivasooriya conferred the titles on them at the twenty-third convocation of the university held Saturday at the Kailasapathy Auditorium.


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Six EU observers to monitor polling in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 00:22 GMT]
Six observers of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) have been posted to Trincomalee electoral district to monitor the election activities on the polling day, said EU Chief Observer Chief Observer, Mr.John Cushnahan, Monday, addressing a press briefing in the Trincomalee district secretariat.


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Major political parties to hold final election rallies Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 21:28 GMT]
The final election rallies of major political parties are to be held Tuesday evening in various parts of the country bringing the one and a half months old bitter election campaign to an end two days before the April 2nd poll, political sources said.
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